Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government which Government agency will have responsibility for staffing and operating the green and red lanes for goods entering Northern Ireland; and to whom that agency will be accountable.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Authorities in the United Kingdom will, as they do today, administer all arrangements under the Windsor Framework, with the relevant UK authority as specified within the relevant regulations.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there willbe any change in the text of (1) the Withdrawal Agreement, or (2) the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, on the description of Great Britain as a “third country” for certain purposes relating to the movement of goods and agri-food products to Northern Ireland, as a result of the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Windsor Framework delivers a fundamental new framework which ensures the smooth flow of internal UK trade and safeguards Northern Ireland's place in our Union. The legal texts published online set out how this will be delivered.

Moldova: Russia

Lord Bowness: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current situation in Moldova and the reported activities of the Russian Federation in that country; and what assistance they are providing to Moldova to support its ambition to join the EU.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Other than Ukraine, no other country has felt the impact of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine more deeply than Moldova. On 16 March, the Foreign Secretary met Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu in Chisinau. He reiterated the UK's steadfast support for sovereign Moldova as it pursues a path of freedom and independence. He also committed a further £10 million of support towards economic and governance reforms. This is in addition to £12 million over three years pledged last year to strengthen Moldova's defences against cyberattack, counter Russian disinformation, reform armed forces and tackle corruption.

EU Law: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether UK producers andmanufacturers will be able to disregard EU laws and rules in the production and manufacture of goods and products for (1) the Northern Ireland market, and (2) the Great Britain market, under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As we said explicitly in the Government's Command Paper on the Windsor Framework, in order to maintain maximum market access for Northern Ireland traders, those EU rules which do apply under the Windsor Framework apply to goods produced in Northern Ireland. But this reflects what we have heard time and again is the balance businesses want in order to prosper:· Companies producing for their most important market in Great Britain will retain completely unfettered access. That means a permanent guarantee of being able to place goods on the UK market in all scenarios.· There are many areas of goods rules within the scope of the old Protocol where no international or EU standards apply - covering a quarter of Northern Ireland manufacturers. In those cases UK national rules set the standards for goods on the market in Northern Ireland.· Elsewhere in manufacturing, international standards apply in practice. Of the nearly 3,600 international goods standards in place, there are differences between the UK and EU in only 11 of them (0.3 percent of standards overall). These reflect minor differences in practice, where the UK has applied higher standards (which Northern Ireland traders can still choose to meet).· In agrifood, the rules in place reflect longstanding arrangements, protecting the integrated supply chains on which many industries rely. But through this agreement they now do so within a dual regime - with retail trade into Northern Ireland able to use UK food safety standards and flow smoothly; Northern Ireland farmers outside of the Common Agricultural Policy; and the Northern Ireland Executive given the flexibility to decide its own approach locally on agricultural subsidies.· This dual regime is also consistent with existing devolution arrangements and the market access principles in the UK Internal Market Act, which mean it is entirely possible constitutionally to have different standards across the UK.

Imports: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government which products from Great Britain, if any, will not be able to be imported to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have removed bans on previously prohibited goods like chilled meats and seed potatoes, and paved the way to remove bans on 11 native British and other commercially important plant species by the next planting season, as industry has called for - including those trees that were prevented from moving to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.There have always been goods subject to prohibition or that are heavily restricted when moving within the UK. As is the case elsewhere for movements within the UK, some goods remain banned by operators, such as flick knives banned under UK law, firearms, furs and ivory.

European Court of Justice: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government what changes to the role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland will be made as a result of the Windsor Framework; and how any such change be implemented in law.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Windsor Framework removes 1,700 pages of EU law, and with them any European Court of Justice (ECJ) interpretation and oversight in those areas. Furthermore, the Stormont Brake would enable a sovereign UK Government decision to veto the application of new EU laws and accompanying ECJ oversight within Northern Ireland. This safeguard in the treaty itself is not subject to ECJ oversight, and any dispute on this issue would be resolved through subsequent independent arbitration according to international, not EU law.In the limited circumstances in which EU rules do continue to apply, the UK and EU are clear that political routes should be used to seek to resolve issues before resorting to formal dispute settlement and that the fundamental underpinning of this arrangement is in international law, not EU law and the EU institutions.

UK Trade with EU: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Northern Ireland will remainpart of the EU Single Market and subject to the rules thereof in the event that the Windsor Framework is implemented.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Northern Ireland is not part of the EU Single Market, it is part of the United Kingdom and its internal market. An absolute minimum (less than 3 percent) of EU law continues to apply in Northern Ireland, to avoid a hard border and maintain Northern Ireland's unique access to the EU market. But alongside this Northern Ireland has full unfettered access to the UK internal market. And under the Windsor Framework, more than 1,700 pages of EU law will be disapplied for UK internal trade. The rules that are disapplied are set out in the legal instruments giving effect to the Windsor Framework.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask His Majesty's Government where they propose to erect border inspection posts in Northern Ireland; when will they be implemented; and what will be the cost of implementation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Work is ongoing regarding the next steps following the passage of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023. We will set out further updates on those next in due course.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure thatrelief supplies, particularly for women and children, reach the whole of northern Syria, including the region known as Rojava.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to tackling the challenge of increased insecurity and rising humanitarian needs across northern Syria. In north-east Syria the UK is providing assistance via the UN and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners and supports all available access modalities. Those include cross-border and cross-line assistance to reach those most in need across Syria, including women and children. In the first half of financial year 2022/23, the UK provided over 360,000 medical consultations, ensured 157,000 pupils received access to formal education, provided 32,000 people with sexual and reproductive services and provided 28,000 people with sexual and gender based violence services.

Syria: International Assistance

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whatrelief and development aid they are providing in Syria through the (1) indigenous, and (2) external, faith authorities.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not publicly disclose the names of Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners in Syria for the interests of security. The UK works closely with UN, Syrian and International NGO partners to ensure aid reaches those in need within Syria. Since 2012 the UK has provided over £3.8 billion to the Syria crisis, our largest response to a single humanitarian crisis.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regarding (1) the need for food and medical supplies for, and (2) the plans for resettlement of, the approximately 7,500 internally displaced people in the Rukban Camp on the Syria/Jordan border.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The situation in Rukban is an issue the UK Government continues to discuss with the UN as well as raising in multilateral fora such as the UN Security Council and the Humanitarian Task Force in Geneva. We will continue to advocate for unimpeded, unfettered aid access across the whole of Syria including Rukban and remain grateful for the UN's continued work to find a solution to an extremely challenging situation. We will continue to engage with the UN to ensure that any movement of camp residents to other parts of Syria is safe, voluntary and informed.

BBC World Service: Finance

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how much fundingthey provided for the BBC World Service in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Since 2016, the FCDO has provided over £468 million to the World Service through the World2020 programme, funding 12 language services and enhancements to services in Arabic, Russian, Thai and English, to enable digital transformation and counter disinformation.At last year's Spending Review, we agreed to provide the World Service with a flat-cash funding settlement of £283 million over 2022-2025. The FCDO also provided an additional £1.44 million in financial year 2022-23 for countering disinformation in Russia and Ukraine, alongside a £2.66 million contribution from the DCMS in 2021-22.As part of the Integrated Review Refresh, the Government announced it would provide a one-off uplift of £20 million over two years to the BBC to protect all 42 World Service languages, in recognition of the crucial role the World Service plays in supporting UK soft power, projecting UK culture and values overseas and in countering harmful disinformation.

Kashmir: Reserve Forces

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India concerning the rearming of the Village Defence Group in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in light of the previous revocation of the region’s semi-autonomous status.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have not made representations to the Government of India regarding Village Defence Groups in Jammu and Kashmir. The UK Government's position on Kashmir is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, considering the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Department of Health and Social Care

Social Services: Labour Turnover

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they have taken to increase staff retention in the social care sector.

Lord Markham: We fund a range of training opportunities for social care staff, including the £8.1 million Think Ahead graduate programme and around £12 million a year, 2020-21, for the Workforce Development Fund.In spring 2023, we will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper, including our plans for recognising the adult social care workforce as the profession that it is and for supporting the development and progression of members of the workforce.We also fund partners such as Skills for Care to work directly with care employers and commissioners to help improve staff retention in the sector.

Social Services and Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what further financial support they will provide to (1) voluntary care organisations, and (2) social care workers; and whatplans they haveto align the pay progression of social care workers to NHS pay scales.

Lord Markham: The Government is making available up to £7.5 billion in additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge with up to £2.8 billion available in 2023/24 and up to £4.7 billion in 2024/25. This funding will put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector. The Department has no plans to align the pay progression of adult social care workers to National Health Service pay scales. The adult social care sector is primarily a private and independent sector, and most care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and terms and conditions.

Coronavirus

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life CareThe Lasting Impact of COVID-19 on Death, Dying and Bereavement, published on 1 March,what steps they will take to address the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) the workforce in the health and social care sector, (2) families and unpaid carers, and (3) communities.

Lord Markham: The Government has commissioned NHS England to develop a Long Term Workforce Plan for the National Health Service. Additionally, steps have been taken to deliver the 50,000 nurses commitment by providing a financial support package. To reduce waiting lists in community health, the Government is allocating core funding growth for community health services, investing £8 million this financial year to provide training to support community staff, and on track to reach our commitment of 200,000 personal health budgets by March 2024. Furthermore, the publication of the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan will work to scale up community teams. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, including support for unpaid carers. Additionally, funding for respite and short breaks for carers is included in the NHS contribution to the Better Care Fund.

Coronavirus: Databases

Lord Allan of Hallam: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the data schema for each of the datasets listed in the NHS COVID-19 Data Reference Library.

Lord Markham: The information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Life Sciences: Drugs

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 7 February (HL5233), what assessment they have made of the reports by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (1)False economy?How NHS medicine procurement threatens the UK’s Life Sciences growth engine, published on 23 February, and (2)At the crossroads:how a new UK medicines deal can deliver for patients, the NHS and the economy, published on 1 March; and what assessment they have made of thefindings of those reports that the present NHS medicine procurement system threatens the growth of the UK Life Sciences sector.

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by The Association of the British Pharmaceutical IndustryFalse economy?How NHS medicine procurement threatens the UK’s Life Sciences growth engine, published on 23 February, that the continued current high rebate rates under the voluntary and statutory schemes for branded medicines during the next five years would mean foregoing £50 billion in GDP and £17.9 billion in tax revenues as a result of lost research and development investment; and what are their estimates of the value of the potential lost investment in this sector.

Lord Markham: The Department carefully considers all evidence in the public domain on matters relating to the growth and competitiveness of the United Kingdom’s life science sector, including the recent report by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. This occurs in combination with broad engagement with individual companies, the National Health Service and with charities and patient representatives and will continue moving forward as part of the delivery of the Government’s Life Science Vision.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Party Wall etc Act 1996

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to carry out a consultation on the effects of the Party Wall Act 1996.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Department has not conducted any post legislative review of the Party Wall Act 1996 and does not intend to consult on its effects.

Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Scott of Bybrook on 8 March (HL5866), how theLiverpool Strategic Futures Panel will engage with local councillors now that its first meeting has taken place; and whether its meetings will be open to public scrutiny.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Officers and Members of Liverpool City Council will be engaged as core partners throughout our work on the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel. The Meetings will be held in private and final reports to the Secretary of State will be published.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whatamount they have spent so far on the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens; and what estimate they have made of the final cost of preparing the Holocaust Memorial Bill for introduction in Parliament.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Spend to date on the Holocaust Memorial programme is set out in the table below. No separate estimate has been made of the administrative cost of preparing the Holocaust Memorial Bill.Figures in £m inc VAT Numbers may not sum due to roundingSpend to Date   Client  Staff3.6 Contractors1.1 Programme1.0 Early programme expenditure0.6Total Client 6.3   Content Research and Development 2.0   Design  Architect3.5 Design engineer1.4 Project and cost management1.2 Technical support0.5 Planning app and conditions0.5 Peer Reviews and technical reports0.1 Professional advice0.3Total Design 7.4   Exhibition Delivery  Consultants0.2 Designers0.2Total Exhibition Delivery 0.4   Construction  Enabling works0.2 Basement Box (pre-construction)0.1Total Construction 0.3   Planning Inquiry 1.4   Totals 17.8

Private Rented Housing: Shortages

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to avert any impending shortage of private rental accommodation.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: According to the English Housing Survey, the proportion of Private Rented Sector (PRS) households has remained relatively stable for nearly a decade. The PRS was 19% of households in 2013-14 and continues to be at 19% according to the latest data for 2022. We also recognise, however, that there is pressure on the PRS.Generally, the Government is firmly committed to driving up the supply of new homes and working towards its ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market.

Department for Business and Trade

Confederation of British Industry and Trades Union Congress

Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times (1) the Prime Minister, (2) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and (3) the Secretary of State for Business and Trade have each met (a) the General Secretary of the TUC, and (b) the Director-General of the CBI, since 1 January.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available here: former Department for International Trade, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office.

Windsor Framework

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whatpowers, beyond monitoring, will be given to the Office of the Internal Market under paragraph 52 of the Windsor Framework.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: As set out in paragraph 52 of the Windsor Framework the Office of the Internal Market (OIM) will make full use of its remit by specifically monitoring any impacts for Northern Ireland arising from relevant future regulatory changes. Furthermore, the Government has committed that, in cases where Northern Ireland authorities request that the OIM specifically investigate a concern about a future UK regulatory change, we will provide a full response to any OIM report, taking into account the real-world impacts the report raises.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what business expansion grants areavailable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Lord Johnson of Lainston: Businesses of all sizes can access government-backed finance from the British Business Bank. The Start Up Loans Company provides loans and pre- and post-application support to new entrepreneurs, including a year of free business mentoring for successful applicants. The Recovery Loan Scheme helps smaller businesses access loans and other kinds of finance up to £2 million per business group so they can grow and invest. Additionally, SMEs seeking to grow through exports can access the Export Academy and UK Export Finance.The newly-launched Help to Grow website contains links to the full range of government funding available to small businesses.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Climate Change

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Callanan (HL5765 and HL3971), whether the World Climate Declaration has been taken into account in Government policy, whether in the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or otherwise.

Lord Callanan: The Government has not made a specific assessment of the World Climate Declaration but uses a range of scientific evidence to inform government policy, in particular the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is the global authority on climate science. The World Climate Declaration will not have been assessed as part of the latest IPCC report, as it was published after the literature cut-off date of October 2021, the time by which literature must have been published to be included in the assessment. In addition, the IPCC primarily assesses peer reviewed literature from scientific journals.

Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of who was behind the attack on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; and what evidence they have for that assessment.

Lord Callanan: The Government takes the protection and resilience of subsea and offshore infrastructure seriously. Departments work together to protect it from malicious and other hazards such as accidental damage. The Department awaits the findings of the ongoing investigations into the deliberate damage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: CCTV

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the security cameras installed in the combined government offices at Quay House in Peterborough, which includes the offices of the Passport Office, Natural England and Joint Nature Conservation Committee, are supplied by Hikvision. [I]

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government departments. Specific details regarding the security systems used by departments are withheld on national security grounds.

Treasury

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions were brought by HMRC against the enablers of tax evasion in each year for the last 10 years; for each year, how many penalties were secured as a result of successful prosecutions; and what was the value of those penalties.

Baroness Penn: Tackling enablers of tax fraud is a top priority for HMRC. HMRC is working with partners across the World to take action against enablers.Criminal investigation is only one route that HMRC pursues when it identifies serious non-compliance. The Department uses its full range of powers to tackle these abuses, including civil tax investigation methods which can result in punitive fines and penalties. Prosecutions of Professional Enablers of Tax Evasion Financial Year Prosecutions2017-18 152018-19 292019-20 142020-21 42021-22 4 Since the launch of our Fraud Investigation Service in 2015/16, we have launched over 80,000 civil cases and more than 3,600 criminal investigations, securing and protecting £25.5bn for our vital public services and securing 3,200 criminal convictions. We have in excess of 100 enablers currently under investigation. Information relating to earlier years is not available. HMRC officials are unable to provide data on civil penalties raised as a result of civil investigations into professional enablers of tax evasion as this cannot be extracted from management information held.

UK Infrastructure Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the mandate in the UK Infrastructure Bank’s Annual Report for it to “bolster the government’s lending to local government for large and complex projects”, what financing the Bank has provided forsuch projects in the past 12 months.

Baroness Penn: Since the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) launched in June 2021 it has announced 12 deals in total. Over the past 12 months, the UKIB has announced 8 investments, committing £0.9 billion and estimated to mobilise over £5 billion of private investment. The UKIB has made two local government investments since 2021, including a £107 million loan to Tees Valley Combined Authority for the construction of the South Bank Quay and a £10 million loan to the West Midlands Combined Authority for green sprint bus infrastructure. Through these investments the UKIB is supporting projects which contribute to meeting net zero targets as well as driving regional and local economic growth. The UKIB also supports local authorities through the continued rollout of its advisory service which has pilots underway in Bristol, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.

UK Infrastructure Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what projects have been (1) considered, and (2) financed, by the UK Infrastructure Bank in the past 12 months in each region of the UK.

Baroness Penn: The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) was launched in June 2021 to provide infrastructure finance to tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth across the UK. The Bank is an operationally independent institution and responsible for making its own investment decisions within the scope of its remit. The disclosure of information related to the projects the Bank has considered is market sensitive and therefore not shared publicly. UKIB publishes on its website all announcements on deals it has financed. In the last 12 months UKIB have announced 8 deals, committing nearly £0.9 billion of investment across the UK. This includes funding the expansion of fibre rollout across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

UK Infrastructure Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement in the UK Infrastructure Bank’s Framework Document that it is “yet to be administratively classified”, what classification the Bank has since been given.

Baroness Penn: The UK Infrastructure Bank was launched in 2021 to increase investment into UK infrastructure with a mandate to help tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth. In April 2022 the Cabinet Office approved the administrative classification of UKIB as a Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by HM Treasury, with effect from June 2021. The UKIB Framework Document will be updated to reflect this classification after the UKIB Bill receives Royal Assent.

UK Infrastructure Bank

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what projects the UK Infrastructure Bank is currently considering in each region of the UK.

Baroness Penn: The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) was launched in June 2021 to provide infrastructure finance to tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth across the UK. The Bank is an operationally independent institution and responsible for making its own investment decisions within the scope of its remit. The disclosure of information related to the projects the Bank is currently considering is market sensitive and therefore not shared publicly. UKIB publishes on its website all announcements on deals it has financed. In the last 12 months UKIB have announced 8 deals, committing nearly £0.9 billion of investment across the UK. This includes funding the expansion of fibre rollout across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Apprentices: Taxation

Lord Godson: To ask His Majesty's Government how much money was raised by the apprenticeship levy in each of the financial years (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, (3) 2018–19, (4) 2019–20, (5) 2020–21, and (6) 2021–22.

Baroness Penn: The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in April 2017 and so there are no receipts for the 2016-2017 financial year. Monthly and Annual receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy are published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax Receipts and National Insurance Contribution publication.[1] A condensed version of the table of interest has been copied below, which shows how much funding has been raised by the Apprenticeship Levy in each year since it was introduced in financial year 2017-18: Table: HMRC Receipts for Apprenticeship Levy by Financial Year Financial YearApprenticeship Levy (£ million)2017 -182,2712018 -192,7132019 -202,7982020 -212,9102021 -223,213 [1] HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

BGI Group: Hacking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarksby the Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (HC Deb col 121WH) where he stated that Genomics England “was suffering several hack attacks from BGI each week”, what steps they are taking, if any, against that company; and what steps they will take to scrutinise other Chinese genomic companies.

Viscount Camrose: There is no recorded evidence of BGI attempting to hack Genomics England in 2014, and the Minister has amended the Hansard record accordingly. However, like most organisations they do receive regular attempts to access their systems, for which there are appropriate defences in place and no successful breaches have occurred. Our current protocols allow Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource to consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas. These organisations have consulted with security personnel in the past to ensure partnerships are aligned with our national security interests. As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a full programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, shape global norms and standards, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. We will conduct this work in conjunction with our partners at home, including Genomics England, the NHS and UK Biobank, and with our partners and allies around the world. The new UK Biological Security Strategy, to be published in the coming months, is part of the wider strategic direction of the Integrated Review, under which we are reviewing our policies on export controls and addressing potential vendors of concern across the economy.

Home Office

Illegal Migration Bill

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 8 March (HL Deb col 847) concerning the legality of the new Illegal Migration Bill, what plans they have to address the legal complexities of that Bill.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: In preparing the Bill our aim has been to ensure that it is legally robust to achieve the Bill’s core purpose as set out in clause 1(1). Namely to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by requiring the removal from the United Kingdom of certain persons who enter or arrive in the UK in breach of immigration control.The Government continues to examine ways to further strengthen the Bill, including by bringing forward amendments to make substantive provision (in place of clause 49) as to the effect of interim measures indicated by the European Court of Human Rights.

Visas and Work Permits: Social Services

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany visas and work permits have been granted under the Health and Social Care scheme since February 2022.

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask His Majesty's Government which countries those granted Health and Social Care visas and work permits have come from.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on granted ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas, by nationality, are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q4 2022 (October to December).Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’. table Vis_D02 (xlsx, 2336.9KB)

Department for Education

Schools: Sports

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to give girls equal access to sport in schools, particularly football.

Baroness Barran: On 8 March 2023 the government announced funding to support PE and Sport during the school day and after school, encouraging all schools to provide sports equally for girls and boys. The department is working with the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Youth Sport Trust, the Football Association, and other governing bodies to add equality criteria to the School Games Mark which would cover curricular and extracurricular sport provision. The department will identify schools that deliver equal provision of PE and Sport and will disseminate how they are making this practice available, to inform all schools on how they can achieve it. The department is also funding the Your:Time programme, which trains teenage girls to be able to coach their peers and improve their participation in competitive sport, including football.

Free School Meals: Universal Credit

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children are inreceipt of Universal Credit but are not eligible for free school meals.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review theearnings threshold for those eligible for free school meals given the increased cost of living.

Baroness Barran: Since 2010, the number of children receiving a free meal at school has increased by more than two million. This is thanks to the introduction of universal infant free school meals, alongside protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit. Over a third of pupils in England now receive Free School Meals (FSM) in education, compared with one in six in 2010.The department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low-income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM, but we will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other government departments to provide support to disadvantaged families.

Ministry of Justice

Offenders: Rehabilitation

The Earl of Dundee: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increased deployment of halfway houses both pre-trial and post-custodial sentence on (1) the amount of people in custody, (2) levels of recidivism, and (3) levels of offender reintegration into society.

Lord Bellamy: Effective resettlement of prison leavers is a core part of our efforts to reduce re-offending. Evidence shows that prison leavers who are without settled accommodation are almost 50 percent more likely to reoffend than those who have stable accommodation on release.Our Prisons Strategy White Paper set out our plans to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation. This includes delivering our transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service-Tier 3 (CAS3).CAS3 was launched July 2021 in five probation regions, providing up to 12 weeks accommodation on release with support to move to settled accommodation. Between 1 July 2021 and 17 June 2022, 2,396 individuals, who would have otherwise been homeless, were accepted on to CAS3. We expanded the service to Wales in June 2022, and we will continue to rollout, to support the thousands of offenders who leave prison homeless.Our CAS 2 service provides accommodation for people on bail who would otherwise be remanded in custody. The service has recently been reprocured and learning from the previous contract informed the design of the current provision, increasing the level of support for those living there.As part of the investment approach, we will be undertaking an impact evaluation of accommodation provision where suitable, starting with an impact evaluation of CAS3 which we hope to publish in 2024.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust reportAn Essentials Guarantee: Reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times, published on 27 February, what assessment they made of the recommendation contained in that report to "introduce an Essentials Guarantee" to ensure those on Universal Credit are not going without essential items.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes.  As seen in measures announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, the Government have committed to a series of measures to ensure support for UK citizens. Raising the Universal Credit award by 10.1% to bring rates in-line with national inflation and ensure claimants are supported. The current rates of income-related benefits such as Universal Credit do not represent a minimum requirement, and are not described as such in legislation or Government literature. The Government specifies the rates which are applicable to different benefits, and these may vary according to claimants' circumstances. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of benefit should be as every person has different requirements. Income-related benefit rates are not made up of separate amounts for specific items of expenditure such as food or fuel charges, and beneficiaries are free to spend their benefit as they see fit, in the light of their individual commitments, needs and preferences. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost-of-living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24. We will be delivering further cost of living payments, worth up to £900 for claimants on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households and £150 for those on disability benefits. For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.